St Martin's & St Paul's
Parish Canterbury
St Martin's & St Paul's
Parish Canterbury
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Music plays a vital and developing part in the life and worship of the Parish of St. Martin and St. Paul Canterbury.
Peter Litman joined the Parish in 2001. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music and a Master's Degree in Choral Education. He is currently working towards a PhD in Choral Education at the Institute of Education. Peter is a respected Choral Conductor and besides the church choir, he currently conducts both the Faversham Choral Society and the Deal and Walmer Handelian Choral Society. Peter also directs a professional choir: the Oratory Singers. Additionally, he is a visiting Professor at the National Conservatorio in Lima, Peru (who awarded him an honorary degree of Doctor of Music for his work in Choral Education and the teaching of Choral Conducting); a visiting lecturer in Music Education at Roehampton University; and a visiting lecturer in Education at Canterbury Christ Church University. Peter will be moving to a new position in North Wales at the end of July 2009.
The Choir currently numbers 25 members. Choristers are drawn from the Parish, the local community and Canterbury Christ Church University, the main campus of which lies within the Parish. The Choir sings a variety of music ranging from congregational settings of the Eucharist to "cathedral" style settings of Evensong. The music programme, which is taken from a wide period of composition, ranges from plainsong through to contemporary music. The Choir Secretary is Sue Griffiths, tel 01227 760779
The Choir continues to sing Choral Evensong as guests at several cathedrals in the south of England, including Chichester, Rochester, and Southwark Cathedrals. In May 2009 we sang for a service at St Alban's Abbey. We also formed part of the Canterbury Deanery Choir that sang in Canterbury Cathedral in 2008. Additionally the Choir makes an annual pilgrimage to Ypres in Belgium where it sings Choral Evensong and provide the music for the very moving daily Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate.
Rehearsals are on Friday evenings, 7.30 pm - 8.45 pm. New singers are always welcome: there may be an informal audition depending on your voice part. In the first instance please contact the Director of Music, either by telephing 07870 742644 or emailing plitman@ioe.ac.uk
Details of the anthems that the choir will be singing on Sundays until Easter 2009 may be found by clicking here. This will open as a PDF document. If you do not have the software to open a PDF document, you can get it free by going to the adobe.com website.
On the first Sunday of every month the 9.00 am Prayer Book Eucharist with an Anthem is normally sung by a quartet of singers, specialising in Renaissance settings and Merbecke.
St. Martin's has an early 20th Century two-manual Walker Pipe Organ, a classical instrument consisting of bright flue work. The instrument has solid foundations and bright strong reeds and is a popular instrument for recitals. The instrument has been installed in a prime position, which allows the organ to speak freely into the church.
St. Paul's has a fine 1900 Forster and Andrew's Pipe Organ, which has just been restored by Browne & Sons. Dr David Flood, the Organist and Master of the Choristers at Canterbury Cathedral, came to St Paul's Church on the 27th February 2009 to play the inaugural concert on the refurbished organ - the repairs have been carried out by F H Browne & Sons in Ash, near Sandwich. The concert had a delightful mix of styles and tempi, and included works by J S Bach, Liszt, Mendelssohn, and Alain; the performance was well received and greeted with long applause by the large audience.
The instrument has solid foundations and bright strong reeds and is a popular instrument for recitals. The instrument has been installed in a prime position, which allows the organ to speak freely into the church. The current specification of the St Paul' Church Organ is:
Open Diapason 8'
Clarabella 8'
Dulciana 8'
Principal 4'
Harmonic Flute 4'
Fifteenth 2'
Clarionet 8'
Double Diapason 16'
Open Diapason 8'
Voix Celeste 8'
Echo Gamba 8'
Principal 4'
Mixture II
Oboe 8'
Cornopean 8'
Swell Octave
Open Diapason 16'
Bourdon 16'
Octave 8'
Bass Flute 8'
Trombone 16'
Swell to Great
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
3 Combs to Swell
2 Combs to Great
Balanced Swell Pedal
